Why This Course?

Thank you for caring about preparing students for life after college! When my team and I got started many years ago, we felt like we were creating in the dark. There were not many resources out there – for students or for those who work with them. We did a lot of building from the ground up, spun our wheels many times, and learned from the burn. 

I want to save you time and the frustration of spinning your wheels. Or, if you’re trucking along, I want to help you maximize your efforts and bring them to the next level.  I want to provide what I wish someone would have handed me years ago. 

This course offers just that.

This 4 week course involves a series recorded training modules for practitioners (student affairs professionals, college minsters, church leaders) on the topics below (see page 2) PLUS a weekly live “office hour” with course participants and instructor, Erica Young Reitz. 

How this Course Works

Engage the training modules at your own pace during the week. Then, gather in real time (virtually) to discuss the content. Unlike most online courses, “office hours” offers an added level of connection with participants and your instructor, creating space for you to ask questions that arise from the content as well as the chance to collaborate with co-laborers. It also allows me to further customize the training to your unique needs.

EXCLUSIVE ONLINE FORUM: In addition to the weekly training modules and live office hour gatherings, participants gain access to an exclusive online forum for asking additional questions, sharing successes and struggles, and networking with other practitioners. I will moderate the forum and comment on posts, providing an added layer of coaching and accountability throughout the course.  

I can’t wait to work with you as we equip students to thrive after college! 

-Erica Young Reitz

This Course Offers

  • Customized Training

    Benefit from customized training that addresses the unique needs of your context, tailored to your questions and concerns.

  • Expert Coaching

    Learn from author, teacher, and coach, Erica Young Reitz. She brings her passion for equipping leaders as well as 16+ years of experience working with college students and those who serve them.

  • Exclusive Community

    Join an exclusive community of of like-minded practitioners for networking, accountability, and inspiration to take action.

  • Practical Resources

    Walk away with flexible content and practical resources that you can use right away.

Topics Covered

Session #1: Getting Started or Growing Stronger

Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been building for some time, this session will cover the best practices of any initiative – what to work towards and what mistakes to avoid. Because our work is contextual, this session will also look at our current cultural landscape, what’s trending, and what to keep in mind as we launch students in a time of COVID. This session will address:

  • The latest trends in the college-to-career transition
  • Most important topics to cover with seniors and when
  • What to do when you have limited resources and little time 
  • What others have done, what’s working, and why


Session #2: Student Engagement and Institutional Buy-In 

In the sea of competing good things, it’s an uphill battle to engage students, especially when students don’t have a “felt-need” for preparing for life after college. Not only is it difficult to engage students, but it can also be challenging to gain support and buy-in from our institutions/organizations and those who serve them. Or, sometimes we have supportive faculty or volunteers, but we’re not sure how to best leverage their interest. This session will answer: 

  • How do I get students to engage and commit to anything, especially in their senior year?
  • How do I continue to ground myself in the importance of why this matters as well as get my institution or organization to see the importance (if they don’t already)? 
  • How do I get faculty or volunteers to see the value and engage? Or, if they’re already on board, how do I create better pathways for involvement?


Session # 3: A Look “Under the Hood” 

You want to address the topics that matter most, but you likely don’t have countless hours to devote to developing content or finding creative ways for engaging students with it. This session involves a look under the hood at a typical two-hour workshop for seniors. Course participants will select one topic they’re most interested in learning how to facilitate for their seniors (financial faithfulness; finding community; relating to parents; and so on). This session will walk participants through some of the most important aspects to consider when facilitating a workshop on the topic of choice (based on majority vote), offering the following:

  • The best features of a workshop and how you can build those in to yours 
  • How to structure the time-frame for a balance content delivery and community building
  • Big picture perspective as well as practical ideas to keep in mind when addressing the topic
  • Curriculum guide for the particular topic you selected that you can use right away  


Session # 4: Loving and Leveraging Alumni 

Some people would say that we’re not doing our jobs if we’re not working with alumni while others may not be sure this matters. Does it? This session will cover:

  • A case for keeping in touch with alumni (why it could or should matter) 
  • How to offer support and care to recent graduates in the months and years that follow college
  • How to track alumni and leverage them in the lives of current students 
  • What we can learn from the most influential alumni association in the U.S. (Penn State University)

What Do I Walk Away With?

This course provides the training, tools, and coaching necessary to start new initiatives or strengthen current ones, and content can be applied as early as this semester. Each participant will receive:

  • Greater insight into today’s students and how to best support and serve them in their transition
  • Practical tips, strategies, and resources for equipping and engaging students
  • Proven but flexible content that you can apply right away in your context
  • An opportunity to learn – in real time – with a community of co-laborers
  • Accountably for actions (within each training module) that lead to results


In addition to all of the content delivered through the sessions as well as the coaching and networking through the office hours and online forum, each participant will receive:

A Starter Kit which includes

  •  A workshop template/facilitator notes for designing a 2-hour learning experience
    •  Continuum of Preparedness files and facilitator notes
  • A workshop template/facilitator notes for designing a year-end celebration
  •   “Preparedness Quiz” for generating conversation with students
  • “Roadmap” of topics to cover with students with objectives within each topic (that correspond to After College readings)
  • Image file of large geographical map of U.S.


PDFs/Handouts or Articles

Because each module is customized to the participants’ unique questions and needs, PDFs/handouts will be developed throughout the course. My commitment is to generate practical resources that can be used right away in your context. You will receive dozens of pages of PDFs/handouts and/or articles. 

Course Certificate

Each participant will receive a certificate of completion to enhance their professional training repertoire and personal resume. We live in a cultural moment within higher education where students (and their parents) are less interested in what the college experience offers and more concerned with how that experience will prepare them for life beyond it. This is a timely and relevant training to add to your skills and experience. 

Most importantly, walk away with confidence, inspiration, and knowledge to do work you're proud of! 

Details & Timing

This course runs from March 1 - March 26, 2021. The first session will be available at the start of the month, and new content will be released every Monday for the following four weeks. Participants have the flexibility to engage the content at their own pace throughout the week. The live office hours will take place once a week for 4 weeks in a row, starting on Friday, March 5th from 2 -3 PM EDT (New York Time) and running through March 26th. Each live office hour gathering takes place in real time, but participants have the flexibility to log-on from the comforts of their home or office.

What Course Participants Say

When asked to describe the best thing about the course, here's what former participants say:

  • "There's so much solid and flexible content."
  • "It's very practical...the focus in on function."
  • "It's challenging and encouraging." 
  • "The best thing is getting to learn in community with Erica and others who are are trying to figure this out!"


Testimonials 

"I am loving the training course. I am sincerely being challenged at my core on how I approach students, seniors, and ministry as a whole." -- Chris Shepperd, Brazos Fellowship

"This course helped me to identify what is happening (or not happening) at my institution, who’s on my team, and what kinds of practices work in helping students navigate their transition. Erica meets you wherever you are in that process, providing substantial ideas and stories to equip you well to help students figure out their lives after college. I highly recommend the course for the content, the accessibility of that content, and the quality people you work alongside of in the process!" -- Alex Sanjari, Colorado Christian University  

Pricing

Cost includes access to all recorded training sessions, PDFs and other handouts, and live weekly office hour gatherings with author and expert, Erica Young Reitz. In addition, participants receive exclusive access to an online forum for networking and additional coaching.

Let's Get Started

Ready to save time, get the proven training & resources you need, and prepare your students to thrive in their transition?

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FAQ

  • What happens after I register?

    You will receive a confirmation from Thinkific that your transaction went through. Within 24 hours, you will also receive an email from [email protected] that welcomes you to the course. As the course start date draws closer, you will also receive a Zoom link to office hours.

  • Is there a separate price point for those who only want to view the recorded modules (and not participate in office hours)?

    Not at this time. If you don’t already receive updates from After College Transition, please subscribe to find out about future opportunities and resources as they roll out. www.aftercollegetransition.com

  • What do you charge for multiple participants from the same college, church, or campus ministry group?

    The cost is $247.00 per participant. Please contact [email protected] directly for group pricing and volume discounts.

  • What if I can’t make one of the office hour sessions? Will they be recorded?

    Each session will be recorded, so you can access what you missed. That said, each participant is encouraged to be present at each session for optimal learning and maximization of the live platform. If you know in advance that you will not be available for all of the sessions, this might not be the best time to take this course.

  • Will I have an opportunity to ask questions during the live office hours?

    Yes. Each session will focus on the content of that week’s training module, but this time is devoted to your questions. If – for some reason – I’m not able to address all of your questions during the session, I will be in touch afterwards to find out what questions were not answered (so I can cover them at the start of the next session), and you can always post questions to the online forum.

  • Will the content be rooted in Christian faith principles

    Yes. While certain content can easily be applied across any context (e.g. how we engage over-busy students), the approach to these topics comes from a Christian framework. This framework will be especially apparent as we go into "why" we do this work, what topics we should cover with students, and when we go "under the hood."

  • What happens at the end of the 4 weeks?

    I can’t wait to find out! This is just the beginning. My commitment is to continue to create resources that you can use in your context. And I hope your commitment is to put your learning into action.

  • What should I do if I have a question that wasn't answered above?

    No problem, just reach out. You can contact me at [email protected].